Food court 3-7

Here are some great recipes for granola. Great on top of your morning oatmeal or put on your yogurt. I like it for some crunch on your oatmeal.

Mom’s Best Granola

7 cups rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup boiling water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds and almonds. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, honey, boiling water, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until evenly coated. Spread in a thin layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes in the preheated oven. Stir every 30 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant. Granola will crisp up more when cooled.

Yummy Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup flax seed meal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 300°. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, wheat germ, flax seed meal, brown sugar, sunflower seeds, pecans, almonds, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, vanilla and water. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, and mix until evenly blended. Spread in a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring every 20 minutes, or until toasted. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Sugar Free Granola

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup water

8 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

1 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 cups shredded coconut

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the dates and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture forms a thick paste. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, walnuts, raisins, wheat germ, sunflower seeds and coconut. Spread out in a thin layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly toasted. Transfer the mixture back into the bowl, and mix in the date paste, apple juice concentrate and oil. Return to the baking sheet and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Granola will become crispier as it cools. Store in an airtight container.

Ultimate Granola

5 cups rolled oats

1 cup blanched slivered almonds

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup wheat germ

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups honey

1 cup raisins

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, wheat germ, coconut and sunflower seeds. In a small pan over medium heat, stir together oil and honey until blended. You could also do this in a large measuring cup in the microwave heating for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to coat evenly. Spread out in an even layer on two cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the oats and nuts are toasted. Immediately after it comes out of the oven, stir in the raisins and dried cranberries. Let stand until cooled and stir again to break up any large clusters. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Honey Nut Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, stir oats, nuts and sunflower kernels together. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Add to dry ingredients, mix well. Spread mixture onto two ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue baking until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing.

Sweet and Salty Granola

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275°. Cover a 10-by-15-inch pan with wax paper. Mix brown sugar and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in microwave to dissolve the sugar, about 1 minute. Combine oats, salt, walnuts and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in sugar mixture, honey and vanilla extract. Mix well. Pour mixture onto the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Create clusters by squeezing small handfuls of the oat mixture together. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and gently stir granola using a spoon. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes. The granola will be slightly browned and will continue to harden as they cool.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Melt together the brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, butter flavored spread and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until well combined. Remove from heat. Combine the oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Pour the brown sugar mixture into bowl, stir well to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips, dried cranberries and almonds. Spoon into the prepared pan, pat down and spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven until browned about 15 to 20 minutes.

Nutty Granola

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup hot water

2/3 cup honey

6 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups golden raisins

1/2 cup dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a medium, bowl whisk together the oil, hot water and honey. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, pecans and walnuts. Pour the honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir until the oats and nuts are evenly coated. Spread out the granola onto 2 baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, stir and bake 10 minutes or until toasted. Allow granola to cool completely before stirring in the raisins, golden raisins and dried cherries. Granola will harden as it cools. Break apart any large lumps and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Hope you’ll enjoy trying some of these and will find some that you really like. If you need to reach me, you can email me at judyd2313@frontier.com or drop a line to my attention to the BCR, P.O. Box 340, Princeton, IL 61356.